There are four basic tissues of the body; epithelium, connective (bone, cartilage, fascia and fat), muscle, and nerve tissue. Surgical procedures that restore or maintain anatomical support of body tissues usually involve re-attachment of connective tissues. The most common clinical application of re-attachment of connective tissues is closure of a surgical wound using standard surgical suturing. For surgical procedures involving bone tissue, metal screws and metal pins are often used because of the density of bone tissue. When tissues of different types are attached together such as ligaments to bone, a combination of bone screws and ligament sutures are usually used. Accurate intra operative position of tissue attachment is often compromised by the technical difficulty in placement of the tissue approximating device such as a bone screw with a pre-loaded suture.
Intra operative use of metal bone screws in clinical applications that have a potential for infection has resulted in wound infections requiring surgical removal of the bone screws and other non-absorbable products that can represent a foreign body nidus for continued infection. When feasible, biodegradable products are being used in intra operative clinical applications to avoid problems related to non-absorbable products.
A tissue anchor that can be accurately positioned and placed easily is needed for approximating tissues intra operatively. A need addressed and exceeded according to the teachings of the instant invention.